The new nanomaterials are simultaneously superconducting and ferromagnetic

In the past, it was thought that ferromagnetism and superconductivity were often impossible to coexist at a time. However, American and French physicists have changed this mindset by creating a nanostructure that carries both ferromagnetic and superconductivity at the same time . The results showed a reciprocal effect between ferromagnetism and superconductivity, and will continue to be studied by researchers at Swiss Light Source (Switzerland) and Paul Scherrer Institute.

According to Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superconducting theory (BCS theory), electrons with opposite spins spin together (Cooper pairs) and thus can move unimpeded, causing a loss of resistance. . A magnetic field can destroy superconductivity in two ways: or break Cooper pairs; or make electrons with spin parallel to each other. These effects all result in limiting an electrical current in superconductors due to the breakdown effect of the magnetic field caused by the current itself.

Last year, Jacques Chakhalian and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute (Germany) and the Grenoble University (France) published in the journal Nature Physics vol. 2, pp. 229, 2007 a new nature of contact area between a superconductor produced by Yttrium, Barium, copper and Oxygen and a ferromagnetic substance (LaCaMnO ₃ ). Researchers have developed a technique that allows them to combine two materials in a thin film of superlattices, and have simultaneously calculated ferromagnetic and superconductivity.

Researchers.

Chakhalian and colleagues set out a plan to look more closely at interfaces between the two materials using synchronous light (electromagnetic radiation with different wavelengths that can be adjusted to a specific wavelength for individual experiments). To help them do this, the researchers were funded and researched to work for more than 2 years at Swiss Light Source - one of the places with the most modern synchronous light source in the world.

Super-network cross-section.

The light spectrum at Swiss Light Sourse varies from infrared to hard X-rays and soft X-rays. However, unlike traditional X-rays, which can spread in space, these X-rays are very narrowly focused. The main technical challenge of the Chakhalian group will be how to focus a low-energy beam of photons into a point about a few hundred microns in size.

The study will open up new areas of physics and may even lead to the discovery of more new materials, both ferromagnetic and superconductivity, according to the team.

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